


The Contest Bride

by CharmedMistletoe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-04 00:16:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20461889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharmedMistletoe/pseuds/CharmedMistletoe
Summary: Hermione has been presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity to prove herself a worthy wife for a Malfoy heir





	1. Opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This story has been written for theMourningMadam’s Fairy Tale Fest 'Once Upon a Time'. The tale given to me was “The Princess of Canterbury” by Joseph Jacobs. It is a 3-minute read and is easily available online for anyone who wants to read it before venturing into my story.
> 
> Disclaimer: The world of HP belongs to JKR

_Aesthetics credit to the very talented MrsMast_

Hermione woke up to an unusually bright dorm room. She saw the hard sunrays reflect on the bronze surface of her window and realised that she’d slept almost past breakfast time.

Generally, she was the first to get ready and arrive for breakfast and her dorm mates- Pansy, Ginny, Lavender, Tracy and Daphne were all late risers. However she had given the final touches to a Transfiguration assignment last night, which was due right before Christmas break, hence finishing all her courseworks for the semester with three weeks to spare.

As it was a Hogsmeade Saturday, the other girls were already up and about their day. She got ready and grabbed her beaded bag and a thick cloak to beat the November wind before heading straight to Flourish and Botts where Luna was supposed to meet her in half an hour. It had been a while since she had read any muggle literature and she intended to spend her coursework-free time fulfilling her bucketlist of unread books.

On the way to the castle gates Hermione once again marveled at the school she was studying in. She was here since six years and magic still felt so novel. Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry was one of the most renowned schools in wizarding world and Hermione was proud to be a part of it.

Hogwarts had one of the best libraries and magic greenhouses in the world. The headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, was a known Alchemist and magic-maestro and the only person to have had a pet phoenix in the history of magic. The professors were all the best in their field and had to gain years of experience in-order to be hired. Moreover unlike other schools, such as Durmstrang and Beauxbeatons, Hogwarts was a co-ed school. It was divided into four houses. Wizards were sorted into Gryffindor and Slytherin houses, founded by Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin respectively whereas, witches were sorted into Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff founded by Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff.

Following traditional systems the dorms and classes for the witches and wizards were separate, but the library and professors were common. Hogwarts presented a gender-neutral front in interschool competitions where it always sent one male and one female participant.

She snapped out of her thoughts when reached Hogsmeade and found it unusually loud with chatter. There were girls in many small groups talking excitedly to each other. Assuming that they must be discussing the recent break-up between Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, she headed towards her favorite bookstore and immediately started browsing. She was almost done when she spotted Luna and her boyfriend Neville on the entrance of the shop.

Luna and Hermione initially became acquaintances due to their housemate’s mutual dislike for them. However, the reasons for the said dislike stemmed from different roots. Hermione was considered a muggleborn know-it-all and altogether too nerdy-smart to hang out with, while Luna on the other hand was just too weird. This did work out in favor of the two witches, as they could not have found better friends in each other.

Neville was Luna’s boyfriend and had become a friend of Hermione over a period of time. Initially Hermione was wary of him, as no one really paid Luna, her very smart but somewhat weird friend, any attention. However after seeing his genuine infatuation and fierce protectiveness towards her friend she couldn’t deny that he was indeed a decent guy.

Hermione went over to them with the intention to join them for the remaining hours of their Hogsmeade visit.

Seeing her calm facade Luna asked, “So you haven’t read the Prophet today Hermione?”

“No I haven’t” she said, now suspecting that to be the reason for the unusual bustle around Hogsmeade today.

Neville removed a copy of the wizarding-daily from his satchel and handed it over.

Hermione was faced with the moving picture of Draco Malfoy looking back at her with his handsome features and the most charming smile she had seen on him. She was struck with the image of her long-time crush, which was capturing about one forth of the front page, for a few seconds before she blinked and read the article accompanying it.

**‘Looking for an eligible bachelorette for the Malfoy heir’**

_‘On a very surprising note, one of the most reputed members of the Sacred twenty-eight families of Great Britain, The Malfoys, recently revealed a centuries old blood curse in their lineage. _

_According to the ex-chairman of Malfoy Inc. Mr. Abraxas Malfoy, the curse forces the Malfoy heir to get married by the age of eighteen and conceive the next heir by the age of twenty-five. By disobeying the demands of the curse, the Malfoys would loose all their wealth._

_Lucius Malfoy further explained the Prophet that the curse was placed by one of the Malfoy ancestors when their one and only son refused to get married and have children and the old couple decided to give birth to another child in order to carry on the Malfoy line, causing them a lot of embarrassment._

_“About nine decades ago one of my ancestors had decided not to engage in the fear of the curse” said Mr. Malfoy, “On his 18th bday, his father got an urgent floo call from the goblins saying that their gold was rapidly disappearing from their Gringott vaults. He had to urgently contact his childhood sweetheart and her parents to arrange a wedding that evening. A small portion of the manor had already turned to dust by the time the ceremony was conducted, and no one has been able to rebuild it till date”_

_Draco Malfoy, one of the most eligible bachelors of Europe according to the recent poll by “Witch Weekly”, is turning eighteen next June and is yet blissfully single. The Malfoys have therefore welcomed any and all witches between the age of seventeen and eighteen who would be interested to marry the Malfoy heir (regardless of their blood status) to engage in a small contest organised to determine the next Lady of the Manor._

_“There is no time to go looking for a bride” said Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy, the current Lady of the house, “We were hoping Draco would find someone he likes by the age of seventeen, just like all his grandfathers, but he has been engaged otherwise” Draco is the Seeker and Captain for his school quidditch team and is also one of the toppers of his batch at Hogwarts in academics. He has also been learning the ropes of business in the meanwhile and will join his father’s side full time next June “We want him to have a real chance at finding someone he can love and a good daughter-in-law for the Manor at the same time. We’re organizing this contest now so that there is enough time to make preparations for the wedding and Draco can prepare for his NEWTS peacefully”_

_Although the concept of conducting contests to find bride/grooms is archaic, the Ministry has allowed it this one time due to the nature of the Malfoy curse. In order to participate the girls will have to fill a form, which is a supplement to this edition of the paper. This form is also the first round of the contest and is made to ensure that any person who goes further has a good compatibility with Draco. The form will have to be owled by tomorrow (Sunday) 9pm. All further details regarding the contest are attached with the form. _

_It is surprising how the Malfoys have hidden this curse since almost two centuries. However seeing that the young Malfoy heir has about 3 generations of grandparents alive does go a long way to show…_

Hermione stopped reading and looked up to find her friends

“This would be social suicide guys. Moreover, he would never take me for his bride”

“You don’t know that!” Neville exclaimed, “He doesn’t want to reject a girl based on her blood status or something stupid like that. He wants to find someone he can feel connected with. That’s the whole point of keeping the first stage anonymous. Look at the form, you don’t have to provide your name, picture or blood status”

Hermione resisted the urge to flip the pages to check it for herself. _If he didn’t select her nobody would know that she even applied_

Neville continued, “He has to spend his life bonded to this person. He’s looking for someone who’ll love him for him Hermione, not someone who’s behind his money, fame and status. By participating you’re giving the both of you a reasonable chance for a good future. You are kind, clever and pretty and you can hold an intelligent conversation. I personally can’t think of someone better than you for him”

Hermione looked over at him and again felt the surge of affection for her friend who was almost like her brother now. He knew about her obsession with his friend since ages and had kept it a secret on her request. She knew he was much more closer to Draco than he was to her, and his opinion therefore mattered a lot to her.

“Give yourself this chance Hermione” Luna finally said “You’ve read fairy-tales, haven’t you? Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, everyone had to go through hell before they got their Prince Charmings. You have to fight to get him.”

“Ok, I will send the form”


	2. Compatibility

Hermione didn’t remember how long she had crushed on Draco Malfoy. She suspected it started in fifth year when he would often visit the library to prepare for OWLS. Hermione would always look at his handsome face from between the shelves or from her table. Unfortunately he was always with his friends, including Pansy and Daphne, which made her uncomfortable to approach him. They would not have any good things to say about her. She often daydreamed about him while looking from afar and wondered if they could ever be friends.

Hermione already knew who he was before seeing him ofcourse. He was brilliant in academics and was well known for being witty and sarcastic. He was also very popular amongst girls and she often overheard gossips about his _skills_ in whispered conversations here and there. She had at one point started visiting Hogwarts quidditch matches to watch him fly. This had very evidently tipped off Luna that Hermione was crushing on someone and she had, after a few guesses, correctly assumed that it was the blonde slytherin. Hermione was actually quiet relieved to have someone to discuss her never-ending crush with. Luna was very supportive of her and constantly encouraged her to talk to him. But Hermione was too scared of the backlashing that her dorm mates would give her for approaching him so she stayed away.

Hermione had been particularly upset with Luna when she told Neville about her secret obsession. Neville however had been a perfect gentleman about it and never mentioned anything and Luna confessed that she wanted someone amongst Draco’s friends to support Hermione if she ever got the nerve to act on her feelings.

But now what did or didn’t happen was insignificant. He was going to get married.

Did she like him enough to be bonded with him forever?

Yes, yes she did

Neville and Luna had finally drilled in Hermione that this was her only chance and no amount of potential embarrassment should hold her back. Hermione didn’t want to regret not trying to win the wizard that had captured her heart. So on early Sunday morning she sat against a tree facing the black lake and started with the form.

There was a short list of printed instructions on the front page before the handwritten questions started on the next

_-Please do not write anything that reveals your identity, blood status, school etc. Such forms will be eliminated before they reach Mr. Malfoy_

_-You shouldn’t be below 17 or above 18 years of age while filling this form._

_-The magi-owl number on the top of the form will ensure that it reaches us. You have to note the magi-owl number on a blank piece of minimum 6-inchs of parchment and enchant it with the protean charm to the last page of your form. When we write your response on the back of the form, it will appear on your parchment. Forms without the protean enchantment will also be removed before they reach Mr. Malfoy._

_The girls who are selected will be required to participate in two more rounds of tests that will be conducted on a day between Christmas and New years (the details of which will not be made public in-order to protect the identity of all participants)_

The instructions were pretty basic. Without the protean charm they would have no ways to contact the witch anyways. Also she was satisfied to know that the contest was being conducted privately. She turned the page

** _Hello lovely ladies! Thankyou for giving me this opportunity to know you. Request you to fill this form with complete honesty_ **

** _\- Draco L. Malfoy_ **

It was the first time she was seeing his writing. She caressed the words on the parchment. It was beautiful and elegant. She was sure he was trained in calligraphy at some point.

There were huge gaps between all questions which implied he wanted the answers in detail. Hermione duplicated the form before filling the answers

_What are your favorite hobbies and past-times?_

It was sad that the only real hobby she could come up with was reading and understood why the girls thought she was dull and boring. After cracking her brain for some time she wrote that she loved to read stories as well as all types of academic and other texts. For pasttimes she wrote how she often baked with her mom and went for ice-skating with her dad.

_What is your idea of an ideal date?_

Hmm... Hermione never even thought about going on an actual date. She had fantasised about being Draco’s girlfriend for a long time but most of her thoughts included strolling around Hogsmeade hand-in-hand with Draco stealing kisses every now and then. Even the thought of writing that made her blush. She just wanted to be with him. She ended up writing about a typical date where Draco would take her to a nice candlelight dinner and they would just talk for hours together.

_Do you like travelling? Which is your favorite place you’ve visited? Where would you like to go next?_

Hermione loved travelling, or rather loved the thought of travelling, but she had never been outside of England. She wrote about her favorite places in England and about which places she wished she could go to outside.

_Which is the latest book you read and what is your opinion on it?_

It was a very clever question, one that would actually give insight of the girl’s mind. Hermione carefully selected a recent magic-world book that she’d read and gave her unbiased opinion in a little detail

_Are you a fan of quidditch? Do you play?_

Ok, this was not going to go in her favour. There was no way she could even lie about liking the game, that would be blatant dishonesty. Hermione wrote that she had somehow never developed a fondness for the game (when she really just wanted to list the reasons why he shouldn’t be playing it). Looking way-too-handsome in the jersey not being one of them.

These were followed by some general questions- food preferences, subjects, books, brands etc. The final question then,

_Three things that you want from life at the moment._

They all started with ‘I want...’

She thought about it for a while before she started writing. She got a feeling similar to answering the most weighted question in a test.

_(1) I want_ to ace my NEWTs and work for the rights of magical-creatures

_(2) I want_ to read literature from all around the world and visit all the famous libraries

_(3) I want_ to be with you

If that wasn’t the truth, she didn’t know what was. Hermione knew she would cry if he married someone else. She felt a rush of helplessness and determination all at once. This was her only chance, Draco can’t come out of marriage once he’s tied into it. She had to give her best, otherwise she didn’t deserve him did she?

She went through all her answers once again and made corrections at some places. She then neatly rewrote her answers on the duplicate form. She wrote down her magi-owl number as they were instructed to, placed the protean charm with a parchment, and sealed the envelope before sending it off.

The questions were well-framed and would give Draco an elaborate idea of the sender’s interests and how much it matched his. The only drawback she could see here was that girls like Pansy, Ginny and the Greengrass sisters who knew him personally or through association over the years would know a lot about his interests and manipulate their answers accordingly whereas she was entering into this blindly. Hermione didn’t believe in fairy tales, but she couldn’t help but hope that she got her happily ever after.


	3. Anxiety

“Where the fuck are so many witches coming from!!”

Harry held his head bent over at a desk near a pile of parchments while he heard Draco pacing and ranting continuously. Neville, Blaise and Theo were all sitting close-by, over their own pile of forms in Draco’s Head dorm’s common room

“I swear there can’t be so many women aged 17 and 18 in England! Were these forms sent outside?”

“Daily Prophet was only paid to put it as an additional in the England and Scotland papers Draco, but I’m sure almost all of-age witches would want to participate. Also, owls from other countries wouldn’t have enough time to reach us” Draco just huffed

Harry had explained to his friend earlier that putting up the form on the Daily Prophet would be a bad idea, but Draco was adamant there was no other way. If they published them in magazines the reach would be too less and he wanted to take a genuine chance to find someone he could love for the rest of his life. They had limited their audience drastically by only publishing in selected regions, yet there just seemed to be too many forms owling in.

“I dont know why these witches like you so much, you’re a git most of the time” Theo complained

“They probably find that appealing. Also most of these witches don’t know him outside of what they read in the Daily Prophet. They just know he is as close to royalty of the wizarding world as possible” Neville was bang-on with that assessment “You’re still a prat though no doubts there”

“Thanks Longbottom” Draco slumped on the armchair with his arms and legs stretched out and looked towards the ceiling. He was burning with anxiety. Harry felt bad for his best friend. He was very stressed out about everything. His parents hadn’t told him about the enchantment before because he was too young. And when they did, on his seventeenth birthday, Narcissa assumed Draco would want to marry Pansy. Draco’s face had become paler than it was _which was almost impossible_ and he gave them a look of utter horror that immediately gave them their answer. Draco had since started looking for an ideal girl to date and marry and was getting more panicky as the months went by and he couldn’t find anyone. To everyone’s surprise, it was Lucius who gave Draco the option of holding this contest and after deliberating over it for a week, Draco had thought it was for the best.

The end of the year exams were right before his birthday. If he didn’t get a good bride with this contest, he would be devastated and Harry worried it would affect his NEWTS preparations negatively

“Maybe the witches are filling multiple forms so you would select atleast one!”

“DONT SAY THAT BLAISE!”

Everyone burst out laughing including Draco, and Harry finally took a sigh of relief. Draco had been fretting too much and he was happy they were all there to help and support him through this crucial year.

Harry, Blaise and Theo had helped Draco make the form. It was a bit long but they all agreed they needed all of it to make a sane call. Harry didn’t think a witch would have enough time to fill more than one form properly. They had only kept one day for submitting them for this very reason.

Blaise dramatically thumped another pile on his desk “We should have just included a picture slot like I suggested. It would have been so much easier” Blaise grumbled

Theo just rolled his eyes “We discussed this Blaise, if we gave a name or photo column, Draco would have to select Pansy or Charlene or anyone he already knows in the pureblood circles out of sheer obligation. We are doing this to avoid as many of them as possible”

“They know too much about him to not ace these questions anyways” Blaise finally muttered

“Knowing about his anatomy wont help” Harry scoffed but knew that Blaise was mostly right “Atleast our sorting techniques seem to help”

There was a murmur of laughed agreement.

Theo had the main pile and was vanishing the ones without the protean enchantment and passing them on to Neville. Neville then skimmed out the ones that were not filled completely before handing them over to Harry and Blaise. Draco said he needed all the answers to make a proper judgement. Harry and Blaise had divided the forms equally and were first skimming out the ones where the girls had written about how their ideal date or ambitions in life involved... ahem.. gratifying Draco to put it very mildly. Atleast fifteen percent of the pile got reduced with that. Blaise has expressed his desire to keep some of the forms for himself and Draco suggested he start his own contest instead.

Blaise and Harry were able to recognise the writing of Lavender Brown and Daphne Greengrass while skimming to Draco’s utter relief. They immediately put their forms in the elimination letter slots. If there was someone in school he liked enough to marry, there would have been no need for this contest at all!

Tracy Davis had revealed who she was by writing about his Italy villa as her ideal vacation spot. She was the only girl who knew about it as their families had gone there together once. Harry knew this was intentional, she thought writing this would be vague enough to go through initial screening of forms and that Draco would accept her application once he realised it was her.

“I found Tracy’s form”

“What? How did you know”

“Read it!”

Draco read through and his eyes brightened! He was sure it was her, she was just too cunning. Harry wrote at the back of the form that her form had not met the form-filling criteria

Finally the clock chimed 9pm and Harry gratefully removed the enchantment on the magi-owl collecting the forms. All other forms after this would go to the daily prophet office where they would be vanished immediately.

“She wants all the women in the world to afford designer handbags and shoes Draco, what a noble thing to want in life. I think she’s the one for you”

Blaise kept taunting and entertaining everyone through the process. Harry knew Draco was grateful for his friends. Him and Blaise knew him better than anyone and thats why they were the ones looking through forms for him to give him the best ones.

Harry again started skimming forms. English witches his age were so predictable. They all followed quidditch stars and were extremely fond of shopping. Each had more knowledge about brands and designers than anyone needed and were self-obsessed to varying degrees. He sorted out some distinct ones for Draco to see and some in which the girls interests matched Draco’s somewhat.

His pile for now was almost over and he was getting tired. He grabbed the second last form and started skimming it quickly. However the contents on his particular one engaged him enough to read it thoroughly. He read the neatly written and well thought-out text slowly. The witch had explained in careful detail her interests and opinions. She was one of the few so far who wanted to make a career outside of Malfoy enterprises _and not become a housewife._ Harry knew Malfoy would select this witch without doubts. The witch had also boldly written that she really wanted to be with Draco as one of the things she wanted in life. Harry could practically feel her emotion behind the words

“Draco I think this ones a definite yes”

It was the first time either Harry or Blaise had said that instead of just putting the forms in the ‘to see’ pile. Draco, Theo, Neville and Blaise all went over to see the form.

“I can practically see you giddy to make her travel the world. She hasnt been anywhere much” Theo smiled

“The book she described is also your favorite” said Harry

“She has some muggle hobbies, so definitely not a pureblood snob” Blaise patted Draco’s back jokingly. Draco was still reading carefully

Harry saw that Neville was not reading anymore but didn’t say anything. He had a slight smile though. So he approved as well

“If you don’t like her Draco, I’m keeping her” Theo said half-jokingly

“I like her” Draco was smiling as well now

And Harry could see. He really liked her. For the first time everyone in the room felt like all these efforts were not for nothing.


	4. Get-Set-Ready

Neville had been urgently summoned by Luna the night after the deadline. Hermione had received her invitation to the Malfoy Manor to participate in the contest. Neville obviously knew this but he was still glad to see the sheer excitement and hope on Hermione’s face.

Hermione requested them both to help her prepare for her day at the Manor. She had been asked to arrive early in the morning three days into the Christmas break. The contest activities would take place during the daytime followed by a formal dinner with the whole Malfoy Family, where the name of the next Lady Malfoy will be announced and an engagement ceremony will take place. She was allowed to bring her mother, a friend or an elf with her as a companion.

So it was decided that Luna would be Hermione’s companion. She would help Hermione select robes for the day and also help in practicing spells etc for the contest. Neville would teach Hermione the pureblood etiquettes and help her select formal robes for the dinner. He would also teach her how to dance, as he was well aware that the Malfoys and their cousins were all amazing dancers and it could be a part of the formal dinner.

Meanwhile, Draco had ended up selecting more than thirty witches for the contest. There were just too many forms and it was an impossible task to only select ten as per the initial plan.

In the coming weeks the major setback of selecting so many witches was highlighted when the castle gossip revealed that Pansy, Ginny and a couple more Hogwarts witches had also received letters. Ginny had just recently broken up with Harry and he was devastated to deduce that her crush on his best friend might be one of the reasons for it. Neville just hoped that it didn’t affect Harry and Draco’s friendship. They both definitely deserved better than her.

All the selected girls had stopped talking to each other out of animosity. Hermione was a smart witch and had not made the knowledge of her selection public. Neville was sure that atleast one of Draco’s admirers would have tried to sabotage her preparations.

Draco was growing extremely nervous the closer the contest came and his friends therefore advised him not to meet the girls till after the contest lest he feel obligated to select one of them due to his acquaintances. Harry and Blaise were now a permanent attachment to the nervous ball of anxiety that was Draco Malfoy.

Neville however had different priorities

In the following weeks, he spent most of his free time in training Hermione and preparing her for the monstrosity that was the pureblood society. He took waltz lessons and taught her proper etiquettes for a social dinner.

Hermione’s vivacious hunger for knowledge accelerated the more he trained her. She asked him about anything and everything and Neville was more than happy to indulge the zealous witch. He told her about the mechanics of traditional wizarding mansions and how significant being a Lady of a Manor was.

He gave her a list of topics that were often discussed in society dinners such as charities and ministry policies and explained the topics that were taboo, such as her passion for house-elf rights. He told her about the French background of the Malfoy family and the French gourmet style food she should expect at the dinner. As a herbology enthusiast he even told her about the various plants purebloods tended to keep in their gardens.

Finally the day of the contest had arrived. The witches started arriving on Malfoy lands early in the morning and they were all shown into the dining hall for breakfast. The elves then took all the contestants on a tour of the manor and the gardens before taking them to the drawing room where the first test was to be conducted.

Neville stood with Draco’s family and friends in the drawing room to watch the contestants arrive. There was an excited energy in the air as the witches along with their companions filed in in a long queue for the first task. All of them were dressed impeccably and many of them seemed to be in awe of the huge mansion they had just seen. After a few seconds their gazes shifted. They were all looking for their potential groom, however Draco was asked to stay away during the contest and only appear for the engagement. It was killing him to be in his room but the boys had decided to give him regular updates one-by-one.

Neville spotted Hermione and Luna and waved at them. Amongst the other Hogwarts girls were Astoria, Ginny, Pansy and Penelope. Daphne was also there accompanying her sister. He wondered if Astoria was aware that Daphne had also filled the form and what would have happened if both of them were selected.

“Welcome lovely ladies to Malfoy Manor”, said an aristocratic voice

The guests instantly stopped talking and turned around. There was a pin drop silence. Lucius Malfoy was standing in front of the doors everyone had just filed in from on a podium charmed with the sonorous spell. Professor Snape and Remus Lupin were standing behind him.

“Let me first thank you all for coming forward and showing your love and respect for the Malfoy family”

A few mothers swooned at his voice and Lucius visibly locked his jaw to not sneer at them

“May I first request all the companions to take their seat to my left” Luna came over and sat next to Neville “As you all are already aware, Draco is the heir to the Malfoy estate and enterprises and therefore his to-be-bride needs to be well accustomed to managing and distributing wealth. So my task is going to focus on testing how good you all are at making a monthly budget”

Lucius clapped his hands and the curtains around the drawing room raised revealing many glass globes of various items. The hall suddenly looked so glamorous that everyone just silently looked around for a minute to take it all in. The room was larger than anyone could have imagined

“The elves will give you all equal amounts of fake currency with your names charmed on them along with a list of all the items that are in the different glass cubicles. You will have an hour to look over all of them and decide how much money you would allocate from your monthly budget to each of them. Once you insert the coins into the cubicles, the list you hold will show the amount deposited to the item. You have to put your lists in the silver ballet by the end of the hour”

The elves started distributing the bag of coins to the respective ladies and a bell rang to indicate that the girls could start their rounds.

Neville observed the hall. The items were divided into sections. There was a section dedicated to personal items for witches such as robes, handbags, boots etc. On its right was a section dedicated to maintenance of the manor that included the kitchen, library, gardens and home décor. Maybe that was why the witches were given a tour of the manor before the contest. And finally there was a section dedicated to the various charities that the Malfoys supported.

Neville saw witches making their rounds and noticed how most of them moved towards the personal items section and immediately realized the purpose of this test.

Lucius wanted to spot the gold-diggers.

It was brilliant and something only Draco’s dad could come up with.

Neville saw Pansy and Ginny throw glares in Hermione’s direction when they saw her but was impressed when Hermione just smirked back. It amused him to note how she didn’t even know how Malfoy-ish that expression was.

Theo, who was sitting with Blaise just a few seats away, was eyeing the contestants keenly. He was trying to locate the witch whom he’d half-heartedly joked about stealing from Draco. Harry was with Draco and had decided to attend the engagement party only.

“Snape is rolling his eyes at Lucius” Luna quietly said from beside him

Neville turned to look at them and back at Luna “They must’ve noticed how most of the witches moved towards the shopping items first. I think they first want to eliminate the ones who are in it for the money and fame”

“Thankfully we don’t have to worry about Hermione in this round then. She will probably put all her coins in the library” laughed Luna.

Neville had to smile at that “I would love to see Lucius’s reaction to that”


	5. Responsibility

Since generations the curse had been affecting the Malfoy family in the worst and most silent way possible.

Firstly, the Malfoys had to plan every wedding by maintaining complete secrecy about the curse. Had anyone known about the curse, they would start engaging the heir from a very early age to make sure their daughters married them. Alternatively, the family rivals could sabotage the marriage or pregnancy.

Secondly, seventeen year olds were too young to select their brides, and their parents always wanted daughter-in-laws who would look good in the society instead of being good wives for their sons. So all Malfoy women turned out to be the same arrogant and pompous pureblood ladies. They knew about dressing up prettily, hosting social & charity events, and also a little about interior decor but hardly had any qualities of a selfless trustworthy wife that every husband ultimately looked for.

Lucius didn’t want this for his son or his future generations. He thought about his own wife and clenched his jaw. That’s why he had started looking for a way to get rid from this curse the moment Draco was born. The curse turned out to be a bigger pain than anyone could have anticipated. It had several layers of magic and had been initiated with a blood ritual. Even if Draco decided to sacrifice all his wealth to fight the curse, the final layer of magic was meant to drown the reputation of Malfoys and drag their name through the mud. It essentially meant the end of their lineage.

Fortunately for Lucius, four months after Draco’s seventeenth birthday, Kingley Shacklebolt, a private curse breaker and a good friend of Lucius came up with a way to break through the curse. The only drawback was that the blood ritual to remove the curse would have to be performed while Draco bonds with his wife so Draco was not free from the bounds of the curse.

Severus, Lucius’s best friend and Draco’s godfather, then came through with the idea of this contest. Now that the curse was sure to be gone, there was no need to maintain secrecy about it and they both thought Draco deserved a chance to find a real life-partner amongst this mess.

So here they were, Lucius and Severus were carefully evaluating the ballet of monthly budgets designed by the witches. The witches and their companions were sent for lunch. After lunch Lucius would approach the eliminated witches personally to thank them for their participation and honor them with a bag of goodies from Malfoy Inc. The house-elfs would then escort them out.

Lucius and Severus had marked five witches for removal by seeing their weightage on wardrobe items.

“Most girls have done their research pretty well”, Severus said from beside him “They have allocated quiet a lot of funds to the maintenance of the manor. I do feel that they have severely manipulated their answers though”

“They have, all lists look alike, the major difference is in the charities section” They were clearly trying to impress the Malfoy Patriarch, “Pansy Parkinson has chosen the St Mungo’s mental ward charity as she knows people tortured in the last wizarding war were treated there. Astoria Greengrass has chosen the werewolf-welfare charity obviously because it was common knowledge that my dear friend Remus is one. Ginny Weasley has selected the orphanage with which Narcissa is often seen working with at the Daily Prophet. And Draco’s distant french cousin Maria (_who had participated in this contest to Lucius’s utter disbelieve)_ has donated to the environment department knowing that I worked closely with the French ministry for the same”

Lucius could not eliminate any of these girls out of social obligation. Parkinson and Greengrass were already upset that he was holding this competition instead of marrying Draco to one of their daughters. Eliminating them in a round where Lucius was the judge would be inviting trouble. They thought Lucius would make Draco marry one of their daughters anyways. He could eliminate Ginny but he didn’t, as her budget was by far the best.

“You need not worry about any of them. Dumbledore will surely eliminate them”

This was Lucius’s master card. He had drafted Prof. Albus Dumbledore to perform the final round of the contest, which was meant to determine the magical ability of the witches.

Narcissa, Lucius’s parents and grandparents had all assumed they would get a chance to test the witches but he had managed to keep them as far from the bride-selection process as possible. Narcissa would have without a doubt selected Pansy and the others would have also selected a pureblood witch either out of choice or obligation. Nevertheless, their selection would have nothing to do with Draco’s welfare in mind.

Lucius had eliminated about ten witches when he came across the list from a Miss Hermione Granger. He went through the list and startled at a point. He then went back to read the whole list again. She had the most intriguing list he had seen so far. The most substantial part of her budget went to House Elf Welfare. Everyone knew Malfoy Manor had more than a couple dozens of them maintaining practically everything in the estate however no other girl had even thought about keeping even a meager part of funds for them. The second most funds were allocated to manor maintenance where she divided funds for the garden, kitchens, _library _and lastly a little for decor. She had then equally distributed some funds for different charities and then similar to Ginny Weasley had put the remaining amount in emergency funds. She didn’t keep any funds aside for holding charity/social events and the amount kept for her personal use was next to negligible.

Lucius was intrigued. But he didn’t know whether this was just a ploy to get noticed. There was no way to ensure her sincerity

“Severus, do you know one Hermione Granger?”

Severus looked up surprised, “Indeed I do”

His lips quirked, now that he considered it Severus thought Miss Granger was the perfect match to his Godson. He went over to Lucius to see her list and his grin grew broader. Lucius raised a questioning brow and Severus went on to explain about some project that Miss Granger has been insistently doing since years for House-elf rights. He then told him some things about her general character

“She’s a muggleborn and a complete bookworm. Spends all the time studying in different spots in and around Hogwarts. She is a close friend of the Lovegood girl, and by association Neville, both of whom are very decent company to keep. She’s very driven. Her academic and inter-school records are impeccable. She actually scores more than Draco in almost all subjects. She is also not a slag; I have never even seen her in the wizard’s side of Hogwarts or talking to any of the boys in Hogsmeade. She could have had a muggle boyfriend but that seems unlikely if she was harboring enough of a crush on Draco to participate in this contest”

Lucius was shocked that Ms. Granger seemed to be a student in Draco’s year that he’d never heard about from him. She sounded like a delightful girl that he felt Draco would have liked

“How does she look?”

“You’re wondering why Draco never mentioned her?”

“I can’t help but wonder”

“She is actually quiet pretty but doesn’t put in much effort with make up like the other girls. You might have seen the bushy-haired girl amongst the witches today?”

Lucius nodded. He had indeed. She was the one who went to the books immediately.

“Draco doesnt know much about her other than her academic achievements because of his dearest blood purist girlfriends. Pansy, Daphne and the Weasley girl hate her; mainly because she outsmarts them in every way. We even caught them for suspected bullying in their third year after which they left her alone. But they did a lot of damage to her image. They meet up with the boys on Hogsmeade weekends pretty often and Miss Granger could therefore never approach or develop friendships with any of them”

Lucius felt a flash of anger for the snobby witches who essentially kept a potential wife away from his son. He didn’t want an unworthy girl to trap him in her clutches just to fulfill her dream of living like a queen with no consideration of his son’s ambitions and emotions. He wanted a real companion for him who would stand by him no matter what, love him for more than his money and challenge him intellectually. 

“I want this girl for my son”

“Well that depends upon how she performs in the next task”

“Well atleast we know whom not to eliminate, lets go and give the list of selected candidates to Dumbledore”

With that the both of them moved towards the Malfoy Gardens where the next round was going to be conducted


	6. Ability

Dumbledore stood on a podium and prepared to introduce the next task to the young ladies standing nervously before him.

He had taken the liberty to make arrangements for this particular task at the lovely Malfoy Gardens and was glad to see a bright sky instead of the gloomy clouds always surrounding Wiltshire.

Lucius had managed to eliminate twenty witches leaving ten for Dumbledore to judge from. Therefore, he had set up ten tables filled with a variety of knick-knacks for the witches to deal with.

Each table consisted of a cauldron of half-brewed potion along with its remaining ingredients, an incomplete astronomy chart, a plant from the Malfoy garden and a glass of drinking water. Right now the table was under a statis charm. However the test would start the moment the charm was lifted.

“Good afternoon young ladies” he said to gain everyone’s attention “Your final task today is placed on the table before you. It consists of a half-brewed potion, a dying plant and an incomplete astronomy chart. Your task is to revive everything within the given time frame of thirty minutes”

He was very excited about the test he had planned for the young witches

Every item on the table was an individual test on its own.

The half-brewed potion was the first thing to be focused on as it was also half-burned. The potion needed drinking-water immediately to control the burning ingredients. It would then half to be left to simmer for twenty minutes before the rest of the ingredients of the potion could be added. This would test the spontaneity and potion-brewing skills of the witches.

The plant was a colorful Alcea Hollyhock. Just like the muggle Alcea, this magical diva plant was extremely high-maintenance. A moisturizing charm would have to be cast on the soil every ten minutes. This would test the presence of mind of the witches and also their knowledge of herbology.

The astronomy chart had no time bounds. However it could only be completed if the witches had learned about Draco and his grandmother Cygnus’s constellation. Details about Malfoy Inc. were easily available but Dumbledore wanted to know if the witches had done their background research on the Malfoy family.

In addition to this, he had cast a spell around the tables that would cause fear and anxiety to creep into the witch’s subconscious within the first few minutes. They would be hence forced to work under pressure, which was their final test.

He conjured a huge timepiece and set it for half an hour.

“You may lift the statis charm once the timer starts. Needless to say, if you need any help, you may not ask anyone” No one laughed. _Bad joke Albus._

He started the timer and noticed that the witch on the very first table, Miss Quintin; daughter of a healer of St. Mungos, removed the statis charm and started moistening the plant without noticing that her potion was burning

He shook his head. How typical

He let the witches do their task and started observing around.

The companions were looking worriedly at the witches and some of them were even trying to catch their eyes. Miss Lovegood however was looking around at all tables sharply, she must have noticed the whackspurts that surrounded the tables due to the fear-raising spell he placed on them. Clever girl

He looked up at the Manor and noticed a lone figure at one of the windows. He gave a quick wave and winked at Draco, who immediately backed away and shut the curtains of his room

The Malfoy family members were trying to make their own assumptions of who their ideal daughter-in-law could be. He saw Narcissa give him a look and he gave her a nod back.

Lucius had given Albus complete autonomy to select the most-appropriate witch for his son. He knew that Albus would not be blood-prejudiced or obligated to the purebloods in any way to show any kind of bias in his judgement.

Narcissa however believed that Albus’s test could not possibly evaluate the social requisites needed in a witch to be Lady Malfoy. She had therefore asked Albus to tell her the three most viable witches for his son, instead of selecting just one. She would conduct her own version of a test at the dinner party after which Albus will be declaring the results.

So unbeknownst to the witches, they were going to be undergoing another test after this one.

At half time he went to take a round at the tables.

Miss Quintin’s table was, as he had observed earlier, a big mess. The burnt potion had caused coughing fumes and was irritating the already distressed witch. Miss Greengrass’s table was the same if not worse, she had forgotten to moisten the soil and it was now too dry to be helped. Miss Carrier; an English girl studying in Beauxbatons, seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Albus quickly decided to side-step her table. So far, Miss Parkinson was doing the best. _Boy is Lucius going to be upset_. She had handled the burnt potion and had remembered to water the stubborn plant. Miss Weasley was also fairing well in that regard although she seemed to be struggling with the astronomy chart.

Next table was of one of his brightest students. The most noticeable thing about Miss Granger’s table were the three tiny otter-patronuses running around it. She had figured out the one thing creating pressure on her, the fear-raising spell, and managed it with the most impressive bit of magic a seventh year can perform. Moreover, she had decided to make multiple tiny patronuses instead of a single big one to not tip-off her competitors. _How slytherin of you Miss Granger_. She was sure to finish her tasks with good time to spare

Miss Granger also seemed to be moistening the soil with charms every five minutes instead of ten and sprinkling a few drops of drinking water to it. Alcea Hollyhocks craved this type of attention and were therefore collaging into yellow and orange colors along with its standard pink and white making it look much prettier. He looked at Mr. Longbottom and gave him a smile.

The other witches including Miss Maria Black were also doing ok but as far as Albus could see, he already had the three witches he would give Narcissa.

The simmering time for the potion was over and he again left the witches to brew the potion in peace.

In only a few minutes the time was up and Remus cast a statis charm on all the tables again. Lucius, Snape, Narcissa and Remus accompanied Albus for the rounds this time.

As expected, the seven witches including Miss Greengrass had performed quiet poorly in comparison to the Hogwarts seventh year witches. Albus was actually proud that all his students were performing so well. But he was positively beaming at Miss Granger

Miss Granger’s work was a sight to look at. She had placed the diva pods below the table and the colorful flowers were standing vibrantly covering the area surrounding it. Now that the statis charm had destroyed the fear-inducing spell, the tiny otters were sitting peacefully on the thin branches of the flowers. The potion sat perfectly brewed into multi-colored vials conjured by her. Miss Granger had also transfigured the glass of water into a huge bowl of water. She had placed an Avis charm over it and several canaries were sitting on the edge of the bowl and drinking water from it.

Albus could see that his companions were mesmerized with her work. Despite being a muggleborn, Miss Granger had caught on to another thing purebloods considered significant. Presentation.

It was his turn to give a look to Narcissa.


	7. Complexity

Contrary to what the society including her husband thought of her, Narcissa Malfoy was not a shallow woman.

Maybe in the initial years of marriage she was, but the passing years _and her husband’s cold shoulder_ had given her the lessons she needed.

She still regretted not standing up for Lucius when he wanted to pursue his own venture outside of the family business. She was naïve and didn’t understand his need to make an identity outside of the Malfoy name. She was also greatly influenced by her in-laws at that point and thought it was ok to share Lucius’s business related dilemmas with them, not knowing that Lucius was very slowly losing all his trust in her.

But she had later understood her mistakes and had worked considerably to be a better wife and Lady of the Manor. She knew about the Malfoy curse and had therefore started looking for potential brides from the very beginning

Of all the young ladies that she constantly came across in the pureblood circles, she couldn’t help but be enamored by Miss Parkinson. She had poise and class. She belonged to an extremely influential family that would definitely help Draco in his future endeavors. She had exceptionally good taste in clothing and shared a strong rapport with Narcissa.

Narcissa also knew over the years that Pansy and Draco were close and even romantically involved in his sixth year of school. That’s why it came as a shock to Narcissa when Draco disclosed his horror at the idea of marrying her. She realized that Draco didn’t see her in the way Narcissa did.

From that moment onwards, she had not raised any objections for this contest. She gave Lucius free reign to hold it as he wanted. But she still had responsibilities towards the Manor, her in-laws and also her own family as Draco would get a significant portion of the Black inheritance once he was married.

And so she had requested Dumbledore to let her evaluate the three most magically suited witches before he announced the engagement.

Narcissa stood near the entrance of the huge pre-function hall where people mingled before they sat for dinner. She welcomed the ten witches along with their companions however her eyes were only for the three she had to judge from.

Pansy was as usual looking stunning in her bright emerald green off-shouldered dress robes. Her neck was adorned with a heavy diamond necklace and she was wearing matching diamond earrings. Her hair was poker straight till her shoulders. She was accompanied by her mother whom Narcissa stood chatting with for a while. Ginny Weasley was wearing blood red floor length gown that had a crisscrossed neckline and was completely backless. She had left her long red hair open to cover the exposed skin and had worn a delicate bracelet and earring set.

Lastly she saw Miss Granger. Narcissa was aware that Dumbledore, Lucius, Snape and even Draco’s friends were all routing for the muggleborn witch. She was wearing deep purple dress robes _Draco’s favorite color_ that glittered when she moved about. It was a princess-style dress that flared below her chest and left a small trail behind. She had tied her hair into a bun and left some strands to adorn her face. She was wearing long silver earrings to finish her attire. Suffice to say that all the witches looked like models.

She already knew that Pansy was a complete match to her requirements. She was however keen about Miss Weasley and Miss Granger. Therefore when they headed to dinner, Narcissa took the liberty to sit beside Miss Weasley instead of her designated place. She could immediately feel all eyes on her and knew that several of them had already drawn the conclusion that Ginny was the selected witch.

“You look very pretty this evening Miss Weasley, may I know where you got this lovely gown from” Miss Weasley looked sickeningly happy to have Narcissa’s complete attention and prattled on in detail about her attire.

“I then placed several alteration charms for them to look tailor-fit” she finished finally. Narcissa had already tuned her out a minute ago and had noticed her less than stellar fork-knife coordination. She controlled her urge to make a judgement about the witch based on her eating etiquettes and continued to talk. She was a good conversationalist.

She noticed the other witches around the table and her eyes suddenly found Harry Potter. Harry and Blaise were her son’s best friends and confidante. She thought of them as her godsons. However she couldn’t help but notice how forlorn the former wizard looked tonight. He hadn’t been present for the contest either and had opted to only come for the dinner. He looked up at the young witch sitting beside Narcissa and quickly looked away. It was then she remembered a piece of gossip that she had heard just under a month ago. The Weasley girl had broken-up with Harry after just a couple of weeks of dating. With her mind otherwise engaged Narcissa had not registered the significance of that news till now. The reason for their separation was so evident

This would just not do. She didn’t know what went down between the boys and the Weasley girl but she could not allow any woman to come between her son and his close friends. She would have to evaluate her other options properly.

After dinner, everyone moved to the main hall where the drinks and the dance were organized. Draco was supposed to make his appearance soon and mingle with the witches. Narcissa was still in loops about what to do, she didn’t have much time.

She quickly engaged Miss Granger in conversation and only in a few minutes found herself in awe of her intellect. Her soft-spoken yet determined words oozed power and confidence. Her words however were cut short with the entry of Draco. Narcissa noticed how Hermione’s gentle doe-eyes looked at Draco before making her excuses to the young witch.

Narcissa went over to kiss him on the cheek. He looked dashing as always and his presence alone commanded the attention of the entire hall. His friends flocked towards him at once to give him a complete update no doubt. Finally he went over to meet all the witches and their companions; Blaise accompanying him for this tiring task. Everyone else moved towards the stage which was set near the dance floor

“Have you made your decision Narcissa?”

“Not yet Albus” she sighed “I’m sure it cannot be Ginny Weasley however, I’m thoroughly confused between Miss Granger and Miss Parkinson. Both of them seem to be extremely delightful girls”

They both turned to see Draco mingle with the witches. Some of them were blatantly flirting with him as if they were already betrothed.

“I’m sure you’ll come to the right conclusion dear, but now you must excuse me, I see the desert counter”

Narcissa was paying only half a mind to the people around her, completely absolved in her own dilemma. With only a few minutes left for the announcement, her childhood friend and Hogwarts professor, Mrs. Vector, ambushed her.

“I’ve been trying to catch your eye since ages Narcissa, you look radiant” she beamed

“Ah it’s been a particularly trying day. I feel quiet stressed”

“I understand, is it Ginny Weasley then?”

“I cant reveal who it is, but its not Miss Weasley”

“Ok, I just hope its not Parkinson you’re choosing Narcissa”

“Why not?” Narcissa stared at her friend. She expected Vector to have the exact opposite opinion

“Well, I have it on good record that Pansy Parkinson had paid atleast four girls to fill and send the compatibility forms for her”

Narcissa was absolutely shocked

Until this point, she thought that Pansy was compatible with Draco and that Draco was just being his young and stubborn self and not realizing her potential. She thought with this contest, he would see her in a new light. She was proud of Pansy for making it into the contest and proving herself.

She had forgotten to account for the fact that Pansy and her parents were slytherins and could have had their own motives for befriending Draco. Narcissa felt like the naïve seventeen-year-old girl all over again.

Narcissa looked around for Pansy. She was standing next to Blaise and watching the other witches surrounding Draco. When she noticed Narcissa, she side-nodded towards the contestant ahead of her and rolled her eyes at their hairstyle. They always did this, it was their thing, but today Narcissa just wanted to slap the smug expression off her face.

Well she knew a way to do exactly that


	8. Tranquility

Draco’s heart was beating so fast that his ears were ringing. He couldn’t hear anything although he was sure people were talking to him.

This was it

The boys had filled him in about everything that had happened so far. Pansy, Ginny and a Miss Granger had all succeeded in Dumbledore’s tasks. So no one was sure who was ultimately selected. His friends were routing for Miss Granger but he didn’t know if that was because of her talent or because they knew how much he didn’t want to marry the other witches

Then he saw his parents climb a makeshift stage.

_Please not Ginny. Please not Ginny. Please not Ginny._

Ginny was in no ways good for Harry. But this can’t happen now, not when Harry’s wounds are so fresh.

He heard his mother say something about the efforts that went behind this contest.

Then suddenly all eyes were on him and he realized he was being summoned on the stage.

_Please not Ginny. Please not Ginny_

He climbed up and looked around once more.

Pansy Parkinson’s smug face was looking back at him with a triumphant gleam in her eyes.

_Oh dear Merlin, if you have some mercy for me, then please not Pansy either_

Pansy was cunning, manipulative and bitchy and someone Draco didn’t want to marry at all. He didn’t feel any sparks for her, and despite knowing her all his life, he couldn’t tolerate her.

But his mother loved her, and she was soon going to make the announcement. He looked at his mother and tried to convey what he wanted. She was smiling back serenely at him

She then turned back to the crowd, “Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce to you, our future daughter-in-law and the future Lady of Malfoy Manor…”

_Ahhh there’s no need for dramatic effect mother_

“Miss Hermione Granger”

There was a round of loud applause and he turned to see the most beautiful witch in the room emerge from the crowd and walk towards the stage.

His father gave her a hand for climbing up the stage while all he could do was stare at her. His heart still wouldn’t cooperate and was beating at an abnormal rate

She was coming closer still, and he finally saw her beautiful eyes look up at him and lock him in their magic. He knew, he knew that she was his forever.

Blaise pushed a ring in a velvet box in his direction, which got him out of his stupor. He took her shivering hand and very gently asked her “Will you marry me?”

This was as close to a proposal she was ever going to get. She nodded her head and gave him a brilliant smile “Yes”

He slid the ring to her finger and they both turned around to the claps of his family and friends. He saw his friends cheering for him with a happy Harry waving his tie around and finally smiled his first easy smile in six months.

He stepped down the stage and gave Hermione a hand. The feeling of her hand in his was something he never wanted to let go, and so he didn’t. He kept her hand in his as he led her to the dance floor and only moved it to place it on her waist when the music started.

They didn’t talk; they knew they had all their lives to know each other and both of them just wanted to have this moment of peace after the turbulence their lives had gone through in the past month. He kept dancing and dancing ignoring all requests from his friends and other family members to have a dance with her. They could pester her later. He however could not change his father’s mind and had to leave her to dance with him eventually.

\---xxx---xxx---xxx---

Life after the contest was not as simple as Draco had predicted. Hermione left the manor after the contest for her parents place. She had to inform them of the new development in her life, as she had not wanted to tell them anything earlier incase she wasn’t the chosen one. She had sent an owl the next day saying her parents wanted to meet him.

Draco was decidedly nervous about this and had taken help of Harry’s mother, Lily, for selecting Muggle attire and for knowing more about muggle lifestyle in general

The meeting went surprisingly well. Mrs. Granger had found him very charming and had instantly warmed to him. Mr. Granger had been cold and short in the beginning but had come around by the end of the day seeing how infatuated his daughter was to him. Although he did warn Draco _much to Hermione’s embarrassment _that if he broke his daughter’s heart he would have to face severe consequences. After multiple reassurances that he would look after his daughter to the best of his ability he finally left for home.

Once the air was cleared, they both started owling constantly. They would exchange atleast three letters a day and every letter consisted of a array of things they wanted to know about one another.

Hermione was smart and witty and funny in her own way. She would constantly tease him about the fact that she had to go against tradition and win his hand, and she was therefore the dominant in their relationship

She also sent him a couple of pictures of her bushy-bushy hair, which was apparently the reason she had to ‘settle for him’. Draco spent hours seeing those pictures and staring at her pretty face.

Hermione visited the manor twice after that, once for Christmas and then the New Year Eve dinner. He didn’t get any time alone with her but insisted on getting a dozen pictures with her on each occasion.

His delightful holiday mood was only spoiled by the anonymous letters he kept receiving after word of his engagement got out. It ‘informed’ him of Hermione’s less than ladylike behavior and slutty endeavors before the contest. It mentioned how she was a gold digger and had been looking to trap pureblood men since a long time. Draco didn’t believe all this nonsense but it had diminished his Hermione-high and created a doubt about her potential ex-boyfriends

Once school resumed, Draco started meeting Hermione in the library. They didn’t get much time together as the extra classes for NEWTS preparations had started and their course load was increasing day-by-day, but they managed to meet a few times a week anyways.

On one such meeting, he inquired if she had any boyfriend before him. She replied saying that her bushy head never allowed her that luxury. And that Neville and Dean (another muggleborn like her) were her only friends who were boys.

If Draco had any lingering doubts about her past relationships, they were all gone after the first time he kissed her. It happened two weeks after school started post the Christmas break. They had decided to spend the saturday together at Hogsmeade.

Draco had been aching to get her alone by that point as somebody was always lurking around their table in the library, no matter how secluded.

So after strolling around for a while he took her to the Shrieking Shack for some uninterrupted time. She looked around nervously at the place which clued him to the fact that she had never been to the all time snog-spot.

He then gently pushed her against the wall and opened the zipper of her muggle hoodie, revealing a thin slip of cloth beneath. It showed the peak of her cleavage and exposed some skin above her jeans. Draco ran a finger down the valley of her breasts to her belly button and then placed his hands on the bare skin of her waist. He relished the delicious shiver that ran through her body at his touch. He pulled her closer and closed her lips with his own.

Initially her body was stiff and she returned his kiss hesitantly, but after a while she wound her hands around his neck and deepened it. Draco ran his hands all over her back beneath her hoodie, feeling her curves. At one point, he placed his hand on her behind and squeezed it tightly eliciting a gasp from her that gave him entry to her pretty mouth. Draco deepened and deepened the kiss till he felt her lose her balance a little. They eventually had to come up for air and he ran his lips down her neck and buried his face at the crook. She was breathing heavily. When he looked he noticed a deep blush on her cheeks

“You’re so beautiful”, he said adoringly

She smiled half-heartedly “No need to flatter me Mr. Malfoy” she said teasingly, “I’m already marrying you” she lovingly hugged him again

Draco wrapped his arms around her but frowned over her shoulder. Despite asking several times, Hermione had not revealed what had happened between her and the girls in their initial years. But Draco knew through Severus and Neville that she was bullied and that the experience had left her insecure about herself. _Well, she won’t be for long_

Even though he knew he couldn’t blame Pansy and the girls for a childhood rivalry, he couldn’t help but feel like they were the reason for his suffering past eight months._ If only he knew about Hermione earlier…_

He decided to stay away from them and somehow life seemed much simpler from then on. The boys had welcomed her into their group whole-heartedly. He gave Hermione all the love and attention she deserved, and without the girls around, her already vibrant personality became positively magnetic.

Ginny had gone back to Harry and cried about how her mother had forced her to participate in the contest. Harry thankfully was over her at this point and was trying his luck with a very pretty muggle girl working at a café near Hogsmeade.

All was well

\---xxx---xxx---

Eighteenth May was the best day in Draco’s life.

He had appeared for his NEWTS and would hopefully pass with flying colors

Kingsley Shacklebolt had finally gotten rid of the centuries old Malfoy curse and he was glad none of his successors would have to go through the mental pain he had to go through

And between all this mess, he had managed to meet the love of his life, his wife, Mrs. Hermione Malfoy

He looked at the ecstatic face of his bride and thanked Merlin for his fortune

He started believing a little more in fairy tales and Happily Ever Afters.


End file.
